Hello again readers! I’m coming to you live and bleary-eyed for the first time since becoming immersed in the throes of threes. Three musketeer-ness. Three amigo-dom. Party of five if you include we wolfpack leaders, six if you count our ever-adaptive four-legged love, who’s up nightly with us for this third rodeo of consecutive all-nighters as long as this stretch runs its course.

We may have a dog, but cat naps are what get my husband and I by when we can get ‘em.

And coffee. Lots and lots and lots of high-test.

You’ve heard of ‘adulting’; we’re ‘newborning.’

And while much about newborning is familiar – how very well I now remember having to reheat my coffee 25 times to consume the whole thing, and how easily I’ve reacquainted with Medela brand and its many, many parts – there sure are new things about going back for thirds.

For one, this is the first time we’ve had a new babe with a school-aged child in tow – the very same who was a wee babe himself when I first started this column.

This presents its own set of challenges, as we parents are locked in a schedule that’s very much in motion that includes soccer games, school drop offs, activities, and our own family traditions with which we like to keep up for our older kiddos’ sakes.

When my husband and I checked into the hospital at 5 a.m. four weeks ago, we caught The Godfather marathon on TV and tuned in all labor long as I sucked down popsicles and ruby red gelatin. With exception to mild contractions, it was an easy-going day that I knew would be the last one so calm for a very long time.

I returned from the hospital three days before my now-first grader’s first day, among other prerequisites that rendered my husband and I unable to just hunker down at home for sleepless weeks as we had the first two times.

Now, we have to really curb our zombie-ness so as to not frighten our older children, and I must remain alert enough to share this column with you remotely among other things.
It’s a whole new dynamic, a gravitational shift in our little ones’ birth order – a column for another day – but we couldn’t be happier.

Because unlike our first experience as rookie parents, we now know this phase only gets better. Life will be ever the noisier, presenting a continued soundtrack of memories in the making. 

But we’ll eventually catch a few more Zs. Now, I’m taking little wins as I can.

I may have perpetual dark circles under my eyes and badge-of-honor spit-ups adorning my shoulders, but I did brush my teeth this morning.

Now that’s a victory.

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